Exclusive trailer reveal: 'Smuggler Wore Silk' by Alyssa Alexander

Alyssa Alexander taps into her inner James Bond for her Regency spies. Here, she shares the trailer she made for her Jan 7, 2014, release, The Smuggler Wore Silk. And, ahem, it's sexy.

Alyssa: It seems spies abound in Regency novels, my own included. I've often wondered why, because spies were not well-respected at the time. My theory is partly because of the time period. During the Napoleonic Wars, spies could quickly slip across the English Channel in smuggling boats or by bribing a captain or fisherman. The military and political culture makes espionage an easy choice for conflict and intrigue. The other part of my theory is because our romanticized spies are like James Bond. A little bit dangerous, a little bit sexy, a little bit wounded and a lot guarded — all the makings of a great hero.

In The Smuggler Wore Silk, Julian Travers, Earl of Langford, is no different, which is why my heroine, Grace Hannah, is the perfect woman for him. She's part of a smuggling ring and has her own dangerous side. She's not what she seems at first glance, and neither is he. Each of them must expose their vulnerabilities in order to stay together.

We love to read about characters with secrets so the reader — and the characters themselves — can pull back all the layers of their tough outer shells to discover the vulnerability lurking beneath. As I set about making the trailer for The Smuggler Wore Silk, I wanted to emphasize those layers. Julian's past holds a secret he has not revealed to anyone. Grace hides beneath a mask and lives a double life. All those layers and secrets have a way of coming between people until they must expose their inner selves to truly fall in love. And after all, that's what romance is all about!

I hope you enjoy the trailer as much as I enjoyed making it!

And if you enjoyed that, check out this excerpt from The Smuggler Wore Silk:

A shadowed figure emerged from the trees. A man, tall and lean, stood on the narrow dirt track in front of her, blocking her path. In the dark, under the dense canopy of branches, his face was nothing but shadows and indistinct features.

Fear tightened her muscles and sent a line of sweat rolling down her back. Still, Grace kept her voice cool and steady.

"Who goes there?" She narrowed her eyes, hoping to recognize the stranger's features.

"Why, it's Miss Hannah." Pitched nearly to a whisper, the voice was unidentifiable, yet it carried clearly on the still night air. "Whatever are you doing in the woods, alone, at nearly three in the morning?"

"It's none of your concern," she answered sharply, shifting so that her coat fell open. She wanted access to her pistol.

"Hmmm." The man stepped forward. It wasn't a menacing movement, but certainly commanding. "What kind of mischief would a gently bred lady get into in the dead of night? A lover, perhaps?" The whisper became a sensual caress in the darkness.

Her heart thumped once, hard. She knew that voice, felt its timbre resonate through her.

"What are you about, my lord?" she asked coolly.

Langford prowled to the side so that he was on her right, standing just at the transition of trees to path. He seemed to merge with the tree trunks until he was only a shadow among shadows. Still, she knew what he would look like. Lean and angular and handsome, with eyes the color of the sky in midsummer.

"Is the lady engaging in something illicit?" The words slid over her, a stroke of heat and danger in the darkness. "Smuggling, perhaps?"